WIKIPEDIA says, ” Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made,[1] of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery (plural “potteries”). Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery.”

This article features the last bit of Wikipedia‘s definition – Pottery as a hobby.

Pottery was an essential life skill in age old yesteryears. Most of the living depended in this activity not just as an occupation but also to run the daily chores. With industrialization and modernization pottery has been placed as an art form, a hobby.

Apparatus for Pottery

For those who feel working with clay is fun, pottery will definitely be a choice. The basic apparatus required to pursue pottery are:

This festival is celebrated to signify the first harvest. Like any other Indian festival people get busy with food preparation and religious ceremonies. However there are two key features of this festival. One is about flying kites and the other is about adorning homes with RANGOLI.

Rangoli by definition is an intricately designed geometrical figure with shades of bright colours filled to depict an important life form, ritual or custom of the festival. Rangoli is made in front of people’s homes, as a sign of welcoming powers of deities. Styles of rangoli differ by region and culture.

What is used to make rangoli?

Rangoli can be made by chalk powder, rice powder or white rock powder. On festive occasions synthetic colours are used to add more beauty to the design. Some opt to use natural colours like vermilion, turmeric and flower petals.

Rangoli in different provinces.

Rangoli is found everywhere in India but is referred differently.

Kolam – KERALA

Aripan – BIHAR

Purna – Uttar Pradesh

Muggu – Andhra Pradesh

Alpana – Maharashtra

Alikhtahp – Kumaon

What is required to learn this art form?

One needs to have the ability to make sense out of geometric figures. Basic skills of drawing, creativity and lots of practice is required to to develop in this art form. To start with, we need to practice small designs with dots in an odd and even arrangement.

Some reasonably difficult designs look like this. One needs to mark around the dots and form these designs. Few other designs require marking on the dots and making comprehensible figures which pertain to deities and festivals. Rangoli in different regions have mythological and religious significance.

Candles were used for religious and basic living needs. In the recent times, use of candle has been translated to decorative and festive purposes. Getting down to the heat of the hobby, candle making has developed as a little science in itself. Now a days, in the metropolitan cities we find a lot of children, teenagers and women exploring this hobby.

What is the basic infrastructure required for this hobby?

Do you have kitchen? Then you are ready for to try out this hobby. This requires you to take a lot of precautionary measures.

Apparatus required for candle making:

Paraffin wax

Bee’s wax

Aluminium tray

Blunt knife

Wicks

Molds

Wax colour

Designer cutters

Any other junk which could be used to hold wax for a candle

Wax scented oil (optional)

With these things you are ready to begin the hobby. Depending on the occasion you can create appropriate candles. Few to name are, tealights, votives, pillar candles, diyas, gel candles and so on.

Make this a hobby

To start with a lot of DIY kits are available in the market for beginners. As amateurs it is good to use them with the instruction sheet within the kit. The basic method to make a candle is to melt the wax, insert the wick in the right portion and pour the molten wax into the mold. This is not it for all types of candles. Each type will have a different procedure which will come onto this blog later.

Some people indulge into craft voluntarily and for some it is serendipity. All those who plunge deeper and deeper into any form of craft transcend as new persons. To some the medium is clay, to some it could be cloth or wood.

What makes a person feel different and rediscovered, is the person’s effort to bring out his/her creativity. Most people connote creativity with innovation and discovery; to me creativity is a result of the efforts made by a person to reach a new height. In the process to pushing one’s self to touch the next step, we realign ourselves and creativity ruffles down as a byproduct. The degree of creativity and its evidence is used to label a person to be creative or not so creative. But creativity as a quality exists in everyone of us; it is only exposed when one makes an effort to do so.

Craft as an activity exposes a person on this realm. I am listing some of the most liked craft forms for the readers to connect and choose one for themselves and walk on this path of self discovery. You can add more forms to the list below.